Cigar lighter



May 23, 1933. .1. SINKO CIGAR HTER Filed Aug. 8 30 By 7% SMM ZTZMWQDESI Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application filed August 8, 1930. Serial No. 473,792.

This invention relates to cigar lighters and The enlarged rear portion of the shell 10 more particularly to cigar lighters of the fits snugly on the outwardly offset portion type generally referred to as wireless cigar 9 of the bracket and hence is maintained in lighters, and which are often mounted on the fixed position in respect to lateral displace- "instrument board of an automobile. ment relative to the bracket. The shell 10 The main object of the invention is to prois fixed to the bracket against axial displacevide a cigar lighter of the type referred to of ment therefrom by means of a contact memsimplified, yet durable construction and ber 14 which is in the form of a rivet. The

whi'ch may accordingly be manufactured Contact rlvet 14: extends through the opening "with ease and at very low cost; to provide a 13 in the front wall of the shell 10 and G9 lighter of the type referred to wherein there through a suitable opening in the. bracket is aminimum of relatively movable parts and portion 9, as clearly shown. The opening in hence wherein the necessity of close and acthe bracket 9 is preferably in the form of a curate fitting parts is eliminated; and in genslot 15 which extends from the axial position 'eral, it is the object of my invention to proof the contact rivet 14 to a point intermediate vide an improved device of the class dethe length of the bottom part of the bracket scribed. 7 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Inas- Other objects and advantages of my invenmuch as the body or shell 10 and the rivet ,...tion will be understood by reference to the 14 each constitute parts of the electrical cirfollowing specification and accompanylng ouit which energizes the igniter element, they 79 drawing in which I have illustrated a clgar must be insulated from each other and this lighter adapted to be mounted on the instruis accomplished by means of an insulating ment board of an automobile a preferred washer 16 disposed between the head 17 of the .form of construction being illustrated. contact rivet 14 and the front wall of the In the draWingshell 10 and an insulating washer 18 disposed Figs. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sections between the back of the bracket part 9 and through the axis of the device; a metal washer 19 disposed around the shank Fig. 3 is an elevation of the front end, i. e., of the rivet 14. A conductor 20 is electrical- .igniter end of the device; and 1y connected to the rivet 14: by having a bared Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the rear end end portion wound around the shank of the of the portable (wireless) igniter unit. rivet and by means of a second metal washer Referring now to the drawing, my im 21 which serves to clamp the bared end of proved cigar lighter includes a stationary the conductor against the washer 18, the rear -unit 5 and a portable unit 6. The stationary end of the rivet being provided with a headed unit 5 comprises'a generally U-shaped brackportion 22. It will be seen that the rivetet mber 7 which may conveniently be made contact member 14 serves to clamp all of the of strap metal bent into the general form of parts constituting the stationary unit toa U. One of the upstanding legs 8 of the U gether in relatively fixed position. The con- .is provided with an outwardly offset portion ductor 20 may conveniently extend through '9 which forms a protuberant boss on which the slot 15 in the bracket and the stationary a metal body or shell 10 is mounted. unit may be mounted on the instrument board The body or shell 10 is generally of tubular of an automobile by means of a clamp screw cylindrical construction having its rear end 23 which threadedly engages a suitable r .of slightly larger external diameter than lts tapped opening 2 f in the leg 25 of the 0 front end whereby an abutment or cam 11 1s b a k t formed intermediate the length of the said The igniter unit which may conveniently body. The front end of the body 10 is probe termed the portable unit 6 comprises a vided with a depressed closure portion 12 main or tubular body 26 of material such as formed integral with the body and centrally bakelite or other phenol condensation prodapertured as shown. at 13. not which may conveniently be molded to the desired shape and size. Of course, any desired material may be used, but it is preferably some material which is not a conductor of electricity and which is not apt to burn at such temperatures as are reached b the incandescent igniter element presently to be described.-

v The tubular body 26 is provided with an internal annular rib 27 intermediate its length, the rear end of the body 26 having a substantially cylindrical recess 28 and the front end having a frusto-conical recess 29 which afiords easy access to the igniter element 30.

The igniter element 30 may be of any suitable resistance material which will become red hot or which will become incandescent when energized with an electric current from an electric storage battery or other source of current available on the vehicle on which the cigar lighter is mounted. In this instance, the igniter element is in the form of a ribbon of suitable metal which is wound into a spiral, the inner end thereof being suitably electrically connected to a center terminal 31 by being clamped tightly thereon, the outer end bei electrically connected to a metallic supporting member 32 in any suitable manner.

The igniter element 30 is'mounted in the unit body 26 through the agency of themetallic member 32 which com rises an annular front portion 33 havingits front margin swaged outwardly as indicated at 34 to overlap the front of, the internal rib 27. At its near, the annular portion 33 is provided with a laterally extending annular part 35 which fits in back of the internal flange 27. A metal clamping ring 36 fits around the unnular part 33 and serves to clamp the outer end of the igniter element 30 against the part 33 to insure the establishment of good electrical connection between the igniter element and metal member 32.

The laterally extending annular wall 35 isfurther extended by being reboot to provide a back portion 37 having a central opening 38, a sheet of mica or other suitable heatresisting insulating material 39 being interposed between the said back wall 37 and the igniter element 30 to prevent the establishment of an electrical contact between the igniter element 30 and the metal member 32 at any point other than the outer end of the spiral igniter element.

For normally maintaining the portable unit in fixed position on the body 10 of the stationary unit, I provide a device which in this instance, consists of av spring metal member, preierably spring bronze, which comprises a back wall part 40, which is provided with a plurality. in this instance four, radially and laterally extending fingers 41. The back member 40 is centrally apertured to fit over a collar 42 formed integral with the back wall 37 and projecting rearwardly therefrom, the rear end of said collar being turned outwardly over the adjacent marginal portion of the spring back wall 40 to rigidly clamp the spring member to the metal member 32. The free ends of the spring arms or fingers 41 are preferably bent or rounded in an outward direction as indicated at 41' and the rear part of the body 26 is provided with an annular recess 43 for receiving the out-turned ends 41 when the fingers are spread outwardly in the manner shown in Fig. 2 and as hereinafter explained.

It will be understood from the above description of the portable unit structure and from an inspection of the drawing, that the metallic parts of the portable unit may be assembled independently of the body 26 and when so assembled, mounted in the portable body by swaging the marginal portion 34 outwardly over the internal rib 27 as previously described. It will be seen that the metallic member 32 and the spring fingers 41 constitute a terminal for the outer end of the igniter element 30 while the inner end of the igniter element is connected to the center terminal 31. In order to prevent the center part of the igniter element from springing forwardly, I provide the center terminal 31 in the form of a rivet having,

its front end headed over the inner end portion of the igniter element as shown at 44 and its rear end portion headed over a. metallic washer 45 as indicated at 46. The metallic washer 45, while in electrical contact with the center terminal 31 is insulated from the metal member 32 by means of a disc 47 of mica or other suitable insulating ma terial and it will be understood that the terminal 31 is insulated with respect to the metal member 32 by reason of the enlarged opening 38 through which the terminal 31 passes Without contacting therewith.

By reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the spring fingers 41 which normally tend to spring inwardly, i. e., towards the center of the portable unit, frictionally fit over the smaller front end portion of the stationary unit body 10. By reason of the frictional holding power of the spring fingers on the body 10, the portable unit is removably mounted on the stationary unit. It will also be observed by inspection of Fig. 1 that the outwardly directed end portions 41 of the spring fingers engage the abutment or cam surface 11 so as to limit telescopic movement of the portable unit over the stationary body 10 and thereby to prevent engagement of the central terminal 31 of the portable unit with the contact 14 of the stationary unit. However, inasmuch as the fingers 41 are resilient, they are capable of being spread outwardly by exerting slight additional force on the portable unit to cause the outwardly bent end portions 41' of the spring fingers to ride up on the cam abutment 11 to the III position shown in Fig. 2. In the spread position, the outwardly bent ends 41 are received by the annular recess 43. Because of the resiliency of the fingers, i. e., the tendency to restore themselves to their predetermined set position, the fingers tend to ride down the cam abutment 11 and as soon as the force applied to bring the center terminal 31 and contact 14 in engagement is released, the fingers operate to move the portable unit outwardly by riding down the said cam abutment. In this manner the center terminal 31 and contact 14 are disengaged. Of course it will be understood that when the portable unit is to be used for lighting a cigar or the like, it is first forced inwardly against the resiliency of the spring fingers 41 and there held until the igniter element 30 is suitably heated, whereupon the portable unit is bodily removed from the stationary unit to suit the convenience of the person desiring to use the same.

The stationary unit 5 is designed to be positioned on the instrument board of a vehicle, the leg 8 of the bracket 7 being positioned on the front surface of the instrument board and the leg 7 adjacent the bottom edge of said instrument board. Under such conditions, it will be understood that the leg 25 of the bracket projects upwardly in back of the instrument board and that the screw 23 may be adjusted to engage the back of the instrument board either directly or through a filler block interposed between the instrument board and the screw to clamp the stationary unit in place.

The above described construction of both the stationary and portable units of my improved cigar lighter are of simple but sturdy construction and hence the lighter may be made at an especially low cost without sacrificing the quality of the device. This fact is highly important because of the highly competitive nature of the commerclal field of the device. I am aware that changes may be made in the form and construction illus trated and described herein without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the following claims, the same being construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. In a cigar lighter, a stationary unit for a portable igniter unit, said stationary unit comprising a mounting bracket having a protnberant boss with an opening therein, a metallic tubular body member seated on and electrically connected to said boss, a contact member disposed centrally of said body member, and a pair of insulation washers disposed respectively on opposite sides of said body and boss, said contact member extending through said washers, through said body member and the opening in said boss so as to be relatively insulated from said body and boss, and said contact member being provided with heads on its opposite ends for retaining the parts in assembled relation through the agency of said washers.

2. In a cigar lighter, the combination of a stationary unit including a tubular metallic shell and a relatively insulated contact member mounted centrally of said shell in fixed relation thereto, and a portable unit comprising a tubular body member having an internal rib, an igniter element, a metallic support for said igniter element, said support having spaced flange portions embracing said internal rib for mounting the support in said body, said igniter element having one end electrically connected to said support, a contact terminal electrically connected to the other end of said igniter ele ment and extending through and insulated from said support, and a metallic member electrically connected to said support and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced, axially extending arms inside of said portable tubular body on one side of said internal rib, said arms being movable radially of said tubular body and adapted to frictionally embrace the shell of said stationary unit for removably mounting said portable unit on said stationary unit.

8. In a cigar lighter of the class described, the combination of a stationary unit including a tubular metallic body member and a relatively insulated contact member mounted centrally in said tubular body member, a portable unit including a tubular body member, an igniter element mounted in said lastnamed body member, and a terminal connected with said igniter element and adapted to engage the contact member of said stationary unit to efiect electrical connection of said igniter element to said contact member, said portable body fitting telescopically over said stationary body, and means for normally maintaining said portable body in predetermined normal position relative to said stationary body with the terminal member separated from the contact member, said means comprising an annular cam formed on the outside of said stationary body, a plurality of integrally formed, circumferentially spaced, laterally yieldable, resilient cam-engaging members located inside of said portable body and anchored thereto against axial displacement, said cam-engaging members having outwardly flared end portions serving to engage said cam to normally limit telescopic movement of said portable body over said stationary body and said cam engaging members being outwardly yieldable to permit further inward telescopic movement of said portable member over said stationary member to permit said contact and terminal members to be brought into engagement, the resiliency of said cam-engaging members seriving to urge the same us assume their normal position relative to said cam and thereby to automatically retract said portable body to its normal position relative to said stationary body, said portable body member having an annular recess for receiving said outwardly offset and portions as an incident to outward displaoement thereof.

JOHN SINKO. 

